Mating electrical pin and socket contacts and insulator therefor



A g- 1965 J P. BLANCHENOT 3,200,367

MATING ELECfRIGAL PIN AND SOCKET CONTACTS AND INSULATOR THEREFOR FiledMarch 7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet J INVENTOR. (fa/av Pwup BA FM/CHENOT BY 5495m! g- 10, 1965 J. P. BLANCHENOT MATING ELECTRICAL PIN AND SOCKETCONTACTS AND INSULATOR THEREFOR Filed March 7, 1963 2 Sheets-Sheet 2INVENTOR. /-I2 103 tlmv Pq/L/p BLHNCWENOT m N We m #7 M Y B WW m M m mwm United States Patent 3,209,367 MATING ELECTRICAL PIN AND SOCKET CON-TACTS AND INSULATOR THEREFOR John Philip Blanehenot, Agincourt, Ontario,Canada, assignor, by mesne assignments, to International Telephone andTelegraph Corporation, New York, N.Y., a corporation of Maryland FiledMar. 7, 1963, Ser. No. 263,477 21 Claims. (Cl. 339198) The presentinvention relates in general to electrical connectors, and moreparticularly to a novel combination of mating pin and socket contactswhich, for a given size, have relatively large contacting surfaces andrelatively strong spring-biased contacting pressure, and which, becauseof their novel construction, can be made much more compact thanconventional pin and socket combinations having similar electricalcharacteristics; and the invention also relates to a combination of saidpin and socket contacts with a novel modular insulator.

One problem in the electrical connector art with respect to the designof mating pin and socket contacts is to provide relatively strong springbiasing means for achieving pressurized contacting engagement. Suchbiasing means is usually embodied in the socket contact, and in manytypes of sockets this results in an undesirable increase in socket size,while in other types it results in only a relatively small area ofcontact between the mating contact members relative to the over-all sizeof the connection.

Another problem in connection with conventional mating pin and socketcontacts is that both of the contacts are elongated members which matecoaxially in such a manner that is their mated condition they provide anelectrical connection which is considerably longer than either thesocket or the pin alone. The top-to-bottom space requirements forelectrical connectors embodying such elongated pin and socketcombinations are objectionable in some types of equipment where space isat a premium, such as in telephone equipment, computers and the like.

A further problem in the art is that conventional pin contact membersare normally produced by machining, which is a relatively expensiveoperation and which must be held to close tolerances. Also, pin contactmembers of conventional construction, when made in small sizes, arerelatively easily bent, and therefore must embody relatively expensivematerials for strength, such materials frequently not being the bestelectrically conductive materials.

In view of these and other problems relating to conventional pin andsocket contacts, it is an object of the present invention to provide anovel pin and socket combination which, for a given over-all size of thecombination, has a relatively large contacting surface area andrelatively strong vspring-biased, pressurized contacting engagement.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a novel matingpair of pin and socket contacts wherein the mating portions of thecontacts are axially slidably engageable in much the same manner asconventional pin and socket contacts, yet wherein the pin contact may bemade of sheet metal by a simple blank-and-form or stamping operation,resulting in a pin contact which is inexpensive to produce and which isparticularly strong for its size.

Another object of the invention is to provide a novel mating pair of pinand socket contacts wherein the forward, mating part of the socketcomprises a pair of gen- Patented Aug. 10, 1965 head portion of the pinbeing resiliently frictionally engageable in the socket with the bulgeengaged against the inner wall of one of the semicylindrical portions ofthe socket and with the fiat opposite side of the head being engagedagainst the slot of the other semicylindrical portion of the socket.

A further object of the present invention is to provide a mating pin andsocket contact combination of the character described wherein the pincontact member includes a body portion having conductor terminationmeans thereon, the body portion extending generally at right angles tothe elongated bulge in the head port-ion of the pin and comprising anintegral extension of the generally flat head portion of the pin,whereby said body portion of the pin will extend outwardly generally atright angles to the axis of the socket when the head portion of the pinis slidably engaged in the slotted tubular forward mating portion of thesocket, so that the over-all length of the mated pair of contacts in thedirection of the axis of the socket is only substantially the length ofthe socket contact member.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a novel modularinsulator for a mated pair of pin and socket contacts of the characterdescribed having a bore within which the socket is mounted, with a slotextending through a side wall of the insulator parallel with the boreand communicating with the bore, so that when the head portion of thepin is engaged in the slotted mating portion of the socket, the bodyportion of the pin will project outwardly through said slot in theinsulator generally at right angles to the axis of the socket.

Further objects and advantages of the invention will appear during thecourse of the following part of this specification wherein the detailsof construction and mode of operation of preferred embodiments aredescribed with reference to the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view, showing one form of pin and the matingsocket according to the present invention in spaced relationship andaligned for being moved into mating engagement.

FIG. 2 is an axial, vertical section along the line 22 of FIG. 1 showingthe pin dotted in its mated position.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the pin and socket fully mated.

FIG. 4 is a transverse, vertical section along the line 4--4 in FIG. 3,with a portion in elevation, illustrating the mated pin and socketcontacts.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a modified form of pin contactmember according to the present invention.

FIG. 6 is an end elevation view of the pin contact member shown in FIG.5.

FIG. 7 is a perspective view illustrating a connector assembly embodyinga plurality of modular insulators adapted to cooperate with the socketand pin contacts of the present invention.

FIG. 8 is a perspective view of one of the modular insulators alone.

FIG. 9 is a vertical section of one of the modular insulators taken onthe line 9-9 in FIG. 7.

FIG. 10 is a horizontal section taken on the line 1i}10 in FIG. 9, witha portion shown in top plan.

' FIG. 11 is a vertical section similar to FIG. 9, but illustrating thesocket and mating pin contacts of the pres ent invention operativelypositioned therein.

FlG. 12 is a perspective view illustrating a modified insulator moduleof double thickness, corresponding to a pair of the modules shown inFIGS. 7-11.

FIG. 13 is a view similar to FIG. 10, but illustrating the modifiedinsulator module of FIG. 12.

Referring at first to FIGS. 1 through 4 of the drawings,

the pin 10 and socket 12 are there illustrated in both their separatedand mated positions. The pin in its preferred form is generally in theshape of a T, and this form of pin will sometimes hereinafter bereferred to as a T-pin.

The T-pin is preferably made of sheet metal by a simple blank and formor stamping operation, and it includes a head portion 14 of generallyfiat, rectangular configuration, and an elongated body portion 16extending from one side edge of the head portion generally in the sameplane as the head portion and at right angles to the longitudinal ormating axis of the head portion. The body portion 16 has crimpingstructure 13 formed as a part thereof, this crimping structure 18including a plurality of interfitting gripping fingers 20 adapted toencompass and grip an end portion of a wire 22. As illustrated in FIG.4, the crimping structure 18 includes a plurality of sharp lances ortangs 23 which are adapted to penetrate through the insulation on thewire 22 so as to make electrical contact with the conductor in the wire.Alternatively, if desired the crimping structure 18 may be without suchlances or tangs 23, and the insulation may be peeled back from the endof the wire so that the gripping fingers 20 make direct electricalcontact with the conductor portion of the wire.

The head portion 14 of the T-pin 1!) has generally flat, parallel sides24 and 26, with generally parallel side edges 28 and 30, which are thelong sides of the rectangle, and generally parallel end edges 32 whichare the short sides of the rectangle. A dimple or bulge 34 is formed inthe head portion 14 so as to project above the fiat side 24. The dimple34 is elongated, being disposed along the longitudinal axis of therectangle of head portion 14, and is generally semicylindrical, withrounded ends that are disposed inwardly of the end edges 32 of therectangle. I

The elongated body portion 16 of T-pin 10 extends outwardly from thecenter of the side edge of head portion 14, generally in the plane ofthe head portion 14 and at right angles to the elongated dimple or bulge34. Preferably, the elongated body portion 16 includes a flat neckportion 35 in the plane of head portion 14 which is immediately adjacentto the head portion 14 and between head portion 14 and the crimpingstructure 18. This fiat neck portion 35 cooperates with the novelmodular insulator of the present invention in the manner hereinafterdescribed in detail.

The socket contactmember 12 comprises a generally cylindrical body 36having a front end 38 and having a rear end which defines a rearwardlyfacing shoulder 40. v

The body 36 has a forwardly opening bore 42 axially disposed therein,the bore 42 having a lead-in chamber 43 at its forward end. The rear endof the bore is disposed forwardly of the rear end shoulder 40 of thesocket body.

An axially arranged, diametrical slot 44 extends rearwardly from thefront end 38 of the body and divides the forward part of the socket bodyinto a pair of generally semicylindrical body sections 4-5 and 46. Theslot 44 has a lead-in bevel 48 at its forward opening. Thesemicylindrical body sections 45 and 46 are composed of resilient metalso as to be resiliently spreadable for frictional engagement with thehead portion 14 of the T-pin 10 in the manner hereinafter described indetail.

The socket contact member 12 includes an axially disposed, rearwardlyprojecting mounting boss 50 which projects rearwardly from the rear end40 of the body, mounting boss 50 having external serrations 52 thereonand having a rearwardly opening riveting hole 54. Al-

though the riveting hole 54 is shown as a relatively shalin the mannershown in FIGS. 1 and 2, with the head portion 14 of the pinsubstantially co-planar with the slot 44 of the socket, and thenslidably engaging the pin head portion 14 in the socket 12 so that thefiat portions of head 14 adjacent to the side edges 28 and 30 areslidably received in the diametrically opposed portions of the socketslot 44, and the elongated dimple 34 is slidably received in thehalf-bore portion of one of the semicylindrical body sections 45 or 46.

Preferably, the thickness of the fiat part of the pin head portion 14 isthe same as or slightly less than the normal width of theslot 44 in thesocket for easy sliding engagement of the fiat part of the head in theslot. However, the top-to-bottom thickness between the crown of dimple34 and the fiat surface 26 on the other side of the head portion 14 ofthe pin is slightly greater than the spacing between the plane of theflat slot surfaces on one of the semicylindrical body sections 45 or 46and the center of the half-bore surface in the other semicylindricalbody section 45 or 46. With such construction, there is a frictionalengagement between the fiat side 26 of the pin head and the slotsurfaces on one of the body sections 45 or 46, and between the crown ofthe dimple 34 and a portion of the wall of the bore 42 in the other bodysection 45 or 46, with the semicylindrical body sections 45 and 46springing outwardly slightly at opposite sides of the slot 44. In thismanner, a firm, spring-biased frictional engagement is provided betweenthe pin and socket to provide the desired contacting pressure, and arelatively large amount of contacting surface area is provided, while atthe same time the mated pin and socket contacts are quite small incombination, and are particularly short in the direction of the axis ofthe socket, the length of mated pair of contacts being onlysubstantially the length of the socket itself.

The slotted socket construction permits the elongated body portion 16 ofthe pin contact member 10 to extend outwardly from the side of thesocket when the contacts are mated in a direction generally at rightangles to the axis of the socket, so that said elongated body portion 16of the pin does not add to the length of the socket when the pin andsocket are mated, and so that a conductor wire 22 likewise will notextend axially relative to the socket to increase the length of thecombination, but will extend outwardly generally at right angles to thebodyof the socket.

It is apparent that the T-pin 10 may be rotated about the axis of itselongated body portion 16 and then engaged in the same manner asdescribed hereinabovc. Similarly, it will be apparent that the socketcontact member 12 may be rotated 180 about its cylinder axis andengagement then effected in the same manner as described hereinabove.

The type of base or mounting structure for the socket contact member 12shown in the drawings, which includes the rearwardly facing shoulder 40of the socket body and the reawardly projecting mounting boss 50, isparticularly well adapted for mounting the socket contact member 12 on aprinted circuit board 56, in the manner illustrated in FIG. 2. Thissocket mounting structure is also well adapted for mounting the socketcontact member 12 in the modular insulator of the present invention asshown in FIGS. 7 to 13.

The printed circuit board 56 has flat, parallel front and rear surfaces58 and 60, respectively, with a printed conductor element 62 on thefront surface 58. A hole64 extends through the board 56 in the region ofconductor 62, and the mounting boss 50 of the socket contact element 12is forced through this hole 64 in the board 56, with the boss serrations52 gripping the material of the board 56. The shoulder 40 on the body ofthe socket contact member makes electrical contact with the printedconductor 62, and the rear end of boss 50 projects out- Wardly past therear surface 60 of the board so that the rear end of the boss can beriveted outwardly for perma- 9 nently .atlixing the socket contactmember 12 to the board. The knurling on boss 50 will, however, normallyadequately secure the socket contact on the printed circuit boardwithout the necessity of the riveting step.

The rear or base structure of the socket contact member 12 shown in thedrawings and described hereinabove is very short, so that the over-alllength of the socket member 12 is much less than many types of socketcontacts, such as those which are adapted to be soldered or 'crimped toa wire conductor and have termination means for this purpose which iscoaxial with the socket. This very short type of socket shown anddescribed herein is particularly useful in connection with the T-pin 10which does not add to the length of the socket in the mated position ofthe pin and socket contacts, for applications where top-tobottom spaceis at a premium, as in telephone equipment, computers and the like.However, it is to be understood that the present invention is not in anyway limited to the particular socket mounting or termination means shownin the drawings and described hereinabove, and that the socket contactmember of the present invention may have various conductor terminationmeans or mounting means thereon.

FIGS. and 6 illustrate a modified T-pin a which in most respects is thesame as the T-pin 10 of FIGS. 1 through 4, but which differs therefromby having a straight-through dimple 34a extending all of the way betweenthe end edges 32a of the head portion 14a of the pin. Lead-in bevels 66are provided at the ends of the dimple 34a. The T-pin 10a shown in FIGS.5 and 6 is operatively engaged with the socket contact member 12 in thesame manner as the T-pin 10.

FIGS. 6 to 13 illustrate the modular insulator structures which areparticularly adapted for use in combination with the T-pin and matingsocket contacts of the present invention. The insulator block or module70 shown in FIGS. 7 to 11 is the basic module, while the insulator block70a of FIGS. 12 and 13 is twice the thickness of module 70 and may beconsidered as a double module.

The insulator modules are adapted to be removably slidably mounted in aslide track 72 having a generally fiat bot-tom 74 and in-turned,upwardly extending side flanges 76. A plurality of the insulator modules70 are adapted to be slidably engaged in the track 72, the modules 70having laterally projecting ears 78 at their bottoms which are grippedby the side flanges 76 of the track. A pair of end blocks 80 having thesame general external shape as the insulator modules 70 are slidablyengaged in the track for securing the modules 70 in position, each endblock 80 having .a hole 82 therethrough which registers with arespective hole through the bottom 72 of the track so that the endblocks 80 can be bolted to the track.

Each of the insulator modules 70 has a pair of fiat, generally parallelend surfaces 86, a fiat top surface $8, a flat bottom surface 90generally parallel'to the top surface 83, and a pair of generally flat,parallel side surfaces 92. In the assembled relationship of theinsulator modules 70 in the track 72, they form an assembled insulationbody 94 having a generally flat top face 96 and generally flat, parallelside faces 98.

Each of the insulator modules 70 has a pair of parallel bores 100extending therethrough from the top surface 88 to the bottom surface 90,and disposed within each module 70 is a jumper plate 102 made ofelectrically conductive material. The jumper plate 102 is generallyparallel to the top and bottom surfaces 88 and 90, respectively, of themodule and extends across both of the bores 100 so as to divide each ofthe bores 100 into an upper bore cavity 104 and a lower borecavity 106.

The jumper plate 102 has a pair of openings 108 therethrough which aresmaller than the bores 100 but are axially aligned with the respectivebores 100.

One of the socket contact members 12 is disposed ineach of the upperbore cavities 104, and the rearwardly facing shoulder of the socketseats against the upper surface of jumper plate 102, with the mountingboss 50 extending through the respective opening 108 in the jumper plateand the end of the mounting boss 50 being exposed through lower borecavities 106 so that it can be riveted over the lower surface of thejumper plate so as to mechanically fasten and electrically connect thesockets 12 to the jumper plate. If desired, the knurled end of boss 50can be tightly driven into the jumper plate opening 108 without turningover the end of boss 50, and the socket contact will be adequatelyfrictionally secured. In this manner a through electrical connection isprovided in the module 70 between the two sockets 12 A slot 110 isprovided in each side wall of the insulator module 70 parallel to therespective bore and so as to provide an elongated opening between therespective bore 100 and the adjacent side surface 92 which extends froma point slightly above the jumper plate 102 upwardly to the top surface88 of the module. One side of the slot e4 of the socket contact member12 in each bore is aligned with the respective slot in the module. Inthis manner, a T-pin 10 can be operatively engaged in each of the socketcontact members 12 in module 70, with the flat neck portion 35 of theT-pin extending through the respective slot 110 in the module, and withthe elongated body portion 16 of the T-pin extending outwardly from therespective side surface 92 of the module generally at right anglesthereto.

Accordingly, a plurality of the modular insulators 70 with socketcontact members 12 supported therein forming the assembled body 94provides for a number of simple through electrical connections, and thistype of modular connector has extensive use in telephone equipment.Although this modular form of connector provides excellent andrelatively permanent electrical connections, the pins and theirrespective conductors can be interchanged and switched around as desiredfor revising and reconstituting circuits, which is particularly usefulin telephone work.

The double module 70a of FIGS. 12 and 13 illustrates that other modularinsulator forms may be employed with the pin and socket contacts of thepresent invention. This module 70a has twice the thickness of. module'70, and has two pairs of the bores 100 and accompanying slots 110. Thejumper plate 102a is common to all four of the bores 100, so as toprovide electrical connection between four socket contact membersmounted in the respective bores 100.

While the instant invention has been shown and described herein in whatare conceived to be the most practical and preferred embodiments, it isrecognized that departures may be made therefrom within the scope of thelnvention, which is therefore not to be limited to the details disclosedherein, but is to be accorded the full scope of the claims.

What I claim is:

1. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated socket contactmember having front and rear ends, said socket member having a forwardmating portion comprising a pair of elongated sections separated by aforwardly opening, longitudinally arranged slot, said sectrons beingresiliently spreadable and at least one of said sections having aforwardly opening, longitudinally arranged groove therein communicatingwith said slot, and a pin contact member including a generally flatmating portion having a bulge projecting outwardly from a side thereof,said mating portion of the pin member being resiliently frictionallyengageable in said mating portion of the socket member with said bulgeengaged in said groove in said one socket section and with the oppositeside of said mating portion of the pin member engaged against the sideof the slot on the other said socket section.

2. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated socket contactmember having front and rear ends, a forwardly opening, longitudinallyarranged slot in said socket member dividing the forward portion of thesocket member into two sections, said sections being resilientlyspreadable, at least one of said sections having a forwardly opening,longitudinally arranged groove therein communicating with said slot andfacing the other section, and a pin contact member including a generallyfiat head portion slidably engageable in said slot of the socket member,said head portion having a bulge projecting outwardly from a sidethereof which is slidably engageable in said groove from the open frontend thereof, the transverse dimension from the bottom of said groove tothe plane of the side of said slot on said other section normally beingless than the dimension from the crown of said bulge to the plane of theopposite side of said head portion, whereby when said head portion ofthe pin member is inserted into the socket member the head portion willbe resiliently frictionally engaged between said groove in said onesocket section and the side of the slot on said other section.

3. An electrical connection as defined in claim 1, wherein said bulge iselongated and is longitudinally slidably engageable in said groove,whereby the pin member is oriented with respect to the socket member.

4. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated, generallycylindrical socket contact member having front and rear ends and aforwardly opening axial bore, said socket member having a forward matingportion comprising a pair of generally semicylindrical sectionsseparated by a forwardly opening axial slot, said sections beingresiliently spreadable, and a pin contact member including a generallyfiat mating portion having an elongated bulge projecting outwardly froma side thereof, said mating portion of the pin member being resilientlyfrictionally engageable in said mating portion of the socket member withsaid bulge engaged against the wall of the bore in one of said socketsections and with the opposite side of said mating portion of the pinmember engaged against the side of the slot on the other said socketsection.

5. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated, generallycylindrical socket contact member having front and rear ends, aforwardly opening axial bore in said socket member, a forwardly opening,longitudinally arranged, generally planar slot in said socket memberdividing the forward portion of the socket member into two generallysemicylindrical sections, said sections being resiliently spreadable,and a pin contact member having a generally flat head portion slidablyengageable in said slot of the socket member, said head portion havingan elongated bulge projecting outwardly from a side thereof which isslidably engageable in said bore from the open front end thereof, theother side of said head portion having a substantially planar surface,the transverse dimension from the bore surface in each section at itsdeepest point from the slot to the plane of'the side of the slot on theother section normally being less than the dimension from the crown ofsaid bulge to said substantially planar surface of the head portion,whereby when said head portion of the pin member is inserted into thesocket member the head portion will be resiliently frictionally engagedtherein with said bulge engaged against the bore surface in one sectionand said substantially planar surface of the head portion engagedagainst the side of the slot on the other section.

6. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated socket contactmember having front and rear ends, said socket member having a forwardmating portion comprising a pair of elongated sections separated by aforwardly opening, longitudinally arranged slot, at least one of saidsections having .a forwardly opening, longitudinally arranged groovetherein communicating with said slot, and a pin cont-act memberincluding a generally flat head portion having an elongated bulgeprojecting outwardly from a side thereof and including an elongated bodyportion integral with said head portion, said body portion havingconductor termination means thereon and extending generally at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of said bulge, said head portion of thepin member being engageable in said slot of the socket member with saidbulge engaged in said groove and with said body portion of the pinmember extending externally of the socket member generally at rightangles to the socket member.

7. An electrical connection as defined in claim 6, wherein said bodyportion of the pin member projects outwardly from an edge of said slotin the socket member intermediate the ends of the socket member when thepin and socket members are fully engaged.

8. An electrical connection as defined in claim 6, wherein said bodyportion of the pin member has a fiat neck portion substantially co-planar with said head portion and intermediate said head portion and said.conductor termination means.

9. An electrical connection as defined in claim 7, wherein said pinmember is generally T-shaped, said head portion of the pin member beinggenerally symmetrical in the longitudinal direction of said bulge onopposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said body portion of the pinmember.

10. An electrical connection which comprises an elongated, generallycylindrical socket contact member having front and rear ends, aforwardly opening axial bore in said socket member, a forwardly opening,longitudinally arranged, generally planar slot in said socket memberdividing the forward portion of the socket member into two generallysemicylindrical sections, and a pin contact member including a generallyflat head portion slidably engageable in said slot of the socket member,said head portion having an elongated bulge projecting outwardly from aside thereof which is longitudinally slidably engageable in said borefrom the open front end thereof, the pin member including an elongatedbody portion integral with said head portion and extending externally ofsaid socket generally at a right angle with respect to the longitudinalaxis of said bulge, said body portion having conductor termination meansthereon.

11. An electrical connection as defined in claim 10, wherein saidsections of the socket member are resilintly spreadable, the transversedimension from the bore surface in each section at its deepest pointfrom the slot to the plane of the side of the slot on the other sectionnormally being less than the dimension from the crown of said bulge tothe opposite side of said head portion, whereby when said head portionof the pin member is inserted into the socket member the head portionwill be resiliently frictionally engaged therein with said bulge engagedagainst the bore surface in one section and said substantially planarsurface of the head portion engaged against the side of the slot on theother section.

12. An electrical connection as defined in claim 10, wherein said bodyportion of the pin member extends outwardly from the head portion of thepin member generally in the plane of the head portion.

13. An electrical connection as defined in claim 10, wherein saidpin'member is generally T-shaped, said head portion of the pin memberbeing generally symmetrical in the longitudinal direction of said bulgeon opposite sides of the longitudinal axis of said body portion of thepin member.

14. An electrical connection as defined in claim 13, wherein the lengthof said head portion of the pin memher in the longitudinal direction ofsaid bulge is greater than the length of the bulge, and the ends of thebulge are spaced inwardly from their respective adjacent edges ends ofthe bulge terminating substantially at the respective adjacent edges ofthe head portion.

16. An electrical connection as defined in claim 13, wherein said headportion of the pin member is substantially rectangular, with the longsides of the rectangle substantially parallel to said elongated bulgeand with the short sides of the rectangle substantially at right anglesto the longitudinal axis of the bulge, said body portion of the pinmember extending from substantially the center of one of the long sidesof the rectangle.

17. An electrical connection as defined in claim 16, wherein the lengthof the rectangular head portion of the pin member is substantially thesame as the length of said slot in the socket member, and the width ofsaid rectangular head portion is substantially the same as said slot.

18. An electrical connector member which comprises an insulator havingtop and bottom surfaces, side surfaces and end surfaces, a bore in saidinsulator generally parallel and adjacent to a side surface of theinsulator and opening at the top surface of the insulator, an elongatedslot aligned with the bore and extending between the bore and saidadjacent side surface of the insulator and opening at said top surface,an elongated socket contact member mounted in said insulator bore, saidsocket member having front and rear ends, with the front end directedtoward the open end of the bore, said socket member having a forwardmating portion comprising a pair of elongated sections separated by aforwardly opening, longitudinally arranged slot, said socket slot beingparallel to and aligned with said insulator slot, at least one of saidsections having a forwardly opening, longitudinally arranged groovetherein communicating with said socket slot, and a pin contact memberincluding a generally flat head portion having an elongated bulgeprojecting outwardly from a side thereof and including an elongated bodyportion integral with said head portion, said body portion havingconductor tennination means thereon and extending generally at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of said bulge, said head portion of thepin member engageable in said slot of the socket member with said bulgeengaged in said groove and with said body portion of the pin memberextending through said insulator slot and externally of the insulatorgenerally at right angles to the socket member.

19. An electrical connector member as defined in claim 18, wherein saidbody portion of the pin member has a flat neck portion substantiallyco-planar with said head portion and intermediate said head portion andsaid conductor termination means, said neck portion extending throughsaid slot in the insulator.

20. An electrical connector member as defined in claim 18, whichincludes a pair of said insulator bores and respective insulator slotsat opposite sides of the insulator, a pair of said socket contactmembers in the respective 1% said insulator bores, and a pair of saidpin contact members in the respective said socket contact members, andwhich includes an electrically conducting jumper in the insulator andextending between the insulator bores, said jumper being electricallyconnected to each of said socket contact members.

21. An electrical connector unit comprising a plurality of electricalconnector members which are each com prised of an insulator having topand bottom surfaces, side surfaces and end surfaces, a bore in saidinsulator generally parallel and adjacent to a side surface of theinsulator and opening at the top surface of the insulator, an elongatedslot aligned with the bore and extending between the bore and saidadjacent side surface of the insulator and opening at said top surface,an elongated socket contact member mounted in said insulator bore, saidsocket member having front and rear ends, with the front end directedtoward the open end of the bore, said socket member having a forwardmating portion comprising a pair of elongated sections separated by aforwardly opening, longitudinally arranged slot, said socket slot beingparallel to and aligned with said insulator slot, at least one of saidsections having a forwardly opening, longitudinally arranged groovetherein communicating with said socket slot, and a pin contact memberincluding a generally flat head portion having an elongated bulgeprojecting outwardly from a side thereof and including an elongated bodyportion integral with said head portion, said body portion havingconductor termination means thereon and extending generally at rightangles to the longitudinal axis of said bulge, said head portion of thepin member engageable in said slot of the socket member with said bulgeengaged in said groove, said body portion of the pin member having afiat neck portion substantially co-planar with said head portion andintermediate said head portion and said conductor termination means,said neck portion extending through said slot in the insulator, andslide track means supporting said connector members in end-to-endstacked relationship forming an assembled insulation body, said topsurfaces of the insulators being aligned to form a top surface of theassembled insulation body, and said side surfaces of the insulatorsbeing aligned to form side surfaces of the assembled insulation body.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,188,024 6/16Treat 339-191 2,715,215 8/55 Flora 339191 2,875,426 2/59 Skony 339258 X2,885,652 5/59 Rowe 339198 2,947,964 8/ Johanson et a1 339-258 X3,079,578 2/63 Swengel 339-258 X r JOSEPH D. SEERS, Primary Examiner.

1. AN ELECTRICAL CONNECTION WHICH COMPRISES AN ELONGATED SOCKET MEMBERHAVING FRONT AND REAR ENDS, SAID SOCKET MEMBER HAVING A FORWARD MATINGPORTION COMPRISING A PAIR OF ELONGATED SECTIONS SEPARATED BY A FORWARDLYOPENING, LONGITUDINALLY ARRANGED SLOT, SAID SECTIONS BEING RESILIENTLYSPREADABLE AND AT LEAST ONE OF SAID SECTIONS HAVING A FORWARDLY OPENING,LONGITUDINALLY ARRANGED GROOVE THEREIN COMMUNICATING WITH SAID SLOT, ANDA PIN CONTACT MEMBER INCLUDING A GENERALLY FLAT MATING PORTION HAVING ABULGE PROJECTING OUTWARDLY FROM A SISE THEREOF, SAID MATING PORTION OFTHE PIN MEMBER BEING RESILIENT FRICTIONALLY ENGAGEABLE IN SAID MATINGPORTION OF THE SOCKET MEMBER WITH SAID BULGE ENGAGED IN SAID GROOVE INSAID ONE SOCKET SECTION AND WITH THE OPPOSITE SID EOF THE SAID MATINGPORTION OF THE PIN MEMBER ENGAGED AGAINST THE SIDE OF THE SLOT ON THEOTHER SAID SOCKET SECTION.